The present application relates generally to power systems and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for monitoring a power system.
Some known power systems convert solar energy into electrical energy. In some known solar power systems, a plurality of photovoltaic panels (also known as solar panels) are logically or physically grouped together to form an array of solar panels. The solar panel array generates electricity and transmits the energy to an electrical grid or other destination.
Some known solar panel arrays include a large number of solar panels and may occupy a large surface area. For example, a solar panel array capable of producing 80 megawatts (MW) of electricity may occupy more than 600 acres of land. The solar panels in a solar panel array may be coupled together to form a network. Such networks may facilitate obtaining data from the solar panels, such as an amount of electricity provided. However, one or more solar panels may experience a failure to communicate properly with the network. If such a failure occurs, a technician may be required to manually inspect the solar panel and/or the network. Due to the large amount of space that at least some known solar power systems use, such manual inspection may be time-consuming, inefficient, and/or expensive.